Training Diary 24th-30th Dec

Monday Dec 24th. HRV=61 Red.

Looks like today is a rest day but I don’t mind.  Spent the day out and about with a lot of walking and some last minute Christmas shopping.  Retested again late afternoon to check my recovery and got a result of 91 which must be my highest ever.  Decided to take a chance and went for a short run but threw in 6* 1 minute fast and felt all the better for it.

Plan for tomorrow is to eat, drink and be merry.

Tuesday Dec 25th. HRV=62 White.

Today is a rest day and I’ll be trying not to overdo it with the food and drink without appearing obvious. There’s a local 4.2 mile race on tomorrow and if that fits in with the home itinerary I’ll take it.  Tomorrow’s possible race won’t be mentioned or used as an excuse not to over indulge but I will try to pace myself.  Think for yourself but sometimes you need to behave like others.

Plan for tomorrow is a 4.2 Mile race or a longer steady run depending on my waking time.

Wednesday Dec 26th. HRV=76 Green.

A good result even though I’m feeling slightly bloated and sluggish but waking without the alarm and in good time to drive to the race means the decision is made.  I’ve never regretted running but have often regretted not running!  Arrived at the race venue with little time to spare and yet again missed my warm up.  This was an unplanned race and to make it worthwhile I decided to run at slightly faster than my Tempo pace with my HR at 90% of HR max.  Got trapped at the start and for the first Km I was trying to find an opening that would allow a break from the pack.  By the time this happened the field was well spread out and I was too far back to make any impression on the results.  I ignored what was going on around me and got into my own rhythm quite quickly and ran it steady all the way.  My pace changed with the lie of the land but my HR stayed constant at 158-160bpm.  Finished in 25:09 and I’m quite happy with that as my recent training has all been about strength & endurance rather than speed and I’m running on tired legs that are far from race ready.

Plan for tomorrow is up in the air at the moment as we’re visiting friends tonight so that could be a deciding factor plus I have a long drive.

Thursday Dec 27th. HRV=60 Amber.

An expected low result after all of yesterday and don’t think I’ll have time to run today as I’ve a 4hr car journey that might take a little bit longer.  Having a low result makes the decision to rest easier as I know it’s of more benefit than training.

Plan for tomorrow is run to and from work at an easy pace to work off a bit of Christmas and start getting back to a normal routine.

Friday Dec 28th. HRV=82 Green.

A good result and helped banish the second thoughts I was having about running to work.  Shortly after leaving my house I was wondering if I should have saved myself for a faster session later on but although my score is showing good signs of recovery I can feel a heaviness in my legs and that’s the result of a few days away from a normal diet.  Ran home again at a slightly faster pace.  Over the next few days I’ll make the effort to recover and refuel.

Got an offer of a lift to the Parkrun so that’s my plan for tomorrow.

Saturday Dec 29th. HRV=71 White.

A good result after yesterday’s split session but on waking with the alarm I wanted to just switch it off and stay in bed.  Not feeling great and my legs are stiff and heavy.  Went to the race with no expectations but did start up front and planned on staying with the lead runners for as long as possible.  My start was slow and I got caught behind a group of approx 20 on a 3 person wide footpath.  The race starts with a slight climb and then a sharp turn right before a slight but short downhill and it was here that I made a break to catch the lead runners.  It felt more of an effort than last week but I stuck with the plan and held my ground even though the temptation to slow down was always there.  Finished in 6th Place with a time of 18:35 and although a lot slower than last week it’s my 3rd race in a less than ideal week and not forgetting I ran close to 40K yesterday.

Plan for tomorrow is an early start for a Team training session on the beach pulling a tyre or weighted sled.

Sunday Dec 30th. HRV=69 White.

Woke early and felt slightly congested before testing and wasn’t expecting such a high result.  I was planning on running before the tyre hauling session but decided to forget about the run and just concentrate on the more important Team session.   Went back to bed for an extra 2 hours and drove to the training venue.  The objective of this workout is to train the event specific movement rather than just the muscles and today we spent 3-hrs at a consistent pace hauling a weight of over 30Kg.

Plan for tomorrow is a running commute to and from work.

Weekly Summary

This week was more about damage limitation than proper training and I think it went better than expected with the inclusion of a few short races that served as quality sessions.  The blue line is starting to curve upwards and that’s a good way to end the year.

Plan for next week is to include a blood test as I want to start using Inside Tracker to ensure I’m in the best possible condition in the build up for my departure to Siberia as I know from experience that a change in diet caused by unfamiliar surroundings can have a negative effect on the overall experience.